How Stuff Work : Business Plan

http://money.howstuffworks.com/business-plans.htm

How Business Ideas Work

http://money.howstuffworks.com/biz-idea.htm

First, you need skills in finance, marketing, management. If you don't have it, obtain from outside help. The only thing you must have yourself is determination and energy.

Where are your strengths

Here are some questions to consider in this time of self- and peer-based evaluation...

• What do you like to do?
• What do you have experience doing?
• What do you think you are good at?
• What does everyone else think you are good at?
• Do you have special education in the area(s) you are interested in?
• Do you have the right mindset to run your own business? (i.e. Do you have expectations of challenge, hard work, long hours, and little money to begin with?)
• Are you willing to put in 60 hour weeks to make your business work?
• Are you resourceful?
• Are you a high-energy person?
• Are you a dreamer or more down-to-earth?
• Can you bounce back from criticism and rejection? (More than just a few times?)

Finding business ideas that fit your talents

Any list of business ideas you find will basically boil down to three types of businesses. Those 3 business types are:

1. Manufactured products that you build and sell yourself
2. Distributed products or services that you buy wholesale and then resell at a higher price
3. Services that you provide

For those three business types, there are typically four possible strategies. The 4 strategies you might use include:

1. Inventing a completely new product for a completely new market
2. Inventing a completely new product for an existing market
3. Improving on an existing product and selling it to the existing market
4. Selling an existing product to a completely new market

Answers These Questions ...

• Is there a market for your idea?
• Does the market have money?
• Is there a lot of competition?
• Can you come up with the funds it will take to get the business started?
• Do you know how to market and sell the produce/service?
• Can you easily get the product or service to your customers?
• what is the best way to get the business started?
• Can you begin as a part-time home business, or
• does it require more manpower and space?
• Is a franchise possible or
• can you buy an existing business?
• Can you estimate the amount of income you can expect from each business idea?
• Do you know enough about the type of business or
• will there be a significant learning curve?
• How much time and money will be devoted to learning about the business?
• Can you afford to take that time?

Other deciding factors

• Your commitment (i.e. travel, commuting, relocating, etc.)

• Your family's support

• Zoning restrictions Your town planning office or City Hall can provide that information.

• Your willingness to seek outside help

• your life style - If you're a night person and hate mornings then you probably don't want to open a doughnut shop.

• personal satisfaction

Self-Evaluation Worksheet for Starting Your Own Business (Microsoft Word document)
Business Idea Evaluation Worksheet (Microsoft Word document)

Chee Hong's Tips on Pre Seed

http://cheehoong.com/entrepreneur/basic-tips-and-guide-for-applying-ict-funding-in-malaysia

below are my high lights

Never say there is NO COMPETITION, and thats the most stupid thing to mention. No matter how niche or how unique your product is, your idea is obsolete within the 10 second when you thought of it, and there might be 1000 people already working on it.

1 Plan is not enough. A plan is just a guideline, plan changes. Thats why always have a Plan A, B and C. Put Plan A as priority.

The person to approve your form does not really care about your idea, but theycare more if you have fill up the forms correctly according to their standards.

Do not make assumption on filling up their application forms. Specially on the financing part. example, if the fund does not includes for marketing purpose,

Get support letter from potential customers to strengthen your idea. Call up your potential customers or targeted markets, present to them, get feedback and get a support letter from them.

Get a Sales and Marketing Partner, some one who could present and up sell your ideas.

Stuff Chee Hong wouldn't submit for a pre seed

http://cheehoong.com/entrepreneur/ideas-that-i-will-not-proposed-to-mdec-for-pre-seed-fund#comment-149

1. Accounting Software - There are too many established accounting software in the region, even how niche, or how well you could differentiate your software, it will be difficult for you to compete with the established one that has almost penetrate most of the market share in their region.
2. Directory or Classified Portal - Examples, a Wedding Portal, listing of directories and branches for all the bridal house, linking up the bridal houses, or even implanting a wedding scheduling system sounds great. But it will not interest the panels. and most does not deserves 150k for development of such sites. and i do believe a lot of people proposed wedding portal in pre-seed before
3. ERP/CRM software - No matter you are doing a small scale or big scale of an ERP system, with financial module, inventory module, production, CRM , PO and SO etc. I still feels that the situation is same as the Accounting software. where you will faced difficulties in penetrating the market. Companies like SAP, Microsoft AX, PeopleSoft has many years of experience in the field, and has done a lot of research and developments for many years.
4. Buy and Sell Portal - If you are trying to create another ebay system, or lelong.com.my, I suggest that you do it on your own without the funds. You will faced questions from panel saying that they can used less than 5k to complete a buy and sell portal.

TechnoPreneur Fund

http://www.technopreneurdevelopment.net.my/cms/AllProduct.asp?CatID=122

Year 2009-Remaining Batches

	Batch 20	Batch 21	Batch 22
Open	24th August 09	07th Oct 2009	20th Nov 2009
Close	08th Sept 09	20th Oct 2009	03rd Dec 2009

You may submit draft proposal to techpreseed@mdec.com.my before or by 21^st August

2009 for Secretariat to review, seek clarifications and to provide inputs to applicants forany required improvements.

Contact Information:

MSC Malaysia Technology Commercialization Centre

c/o Secretariat, Technopreneur Pre-Seed Fund Programme

Technopreneur and Enterprise Development Department

Multimedia University (MMU)

63000 Cyberjaya

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Telephone: 03-8313 8000/8193

Facsimile: 03-8313 8171

Email: clic@mdec.com.my